Inspector Gadget had M.A.D., James Bond has SPECTRE and it would appear that Shane Black’s globe-hopping techno-thriller Iron Man has the TEN RINGS.

One of the cooler Marvel Easter Eggs back from before there even were official Marvel Easter Eggs was that the group of terrorists who captured Tony Stark in the first film were associated somehow with “The Ten Rings,” a wink to comics fans who know that one of Iron Man’s most famous opponents, The Mandarin, had ten magical rings he’d wear that would give him powers. It the Iron Man film universe, The Ten Rings seems to be the name of a terrorist organization. In the first Iron Man, you can see a logo with two cross swords encircled by ten rings on the banner behind Tony when he’s being held for ransom.

In Iron Man 2, a scene was cut (or not filmed) where a man who gave Whiplash fake documentation revealed himself to be an agent of The Ten Rings (this remains in the novelization from what I’m told). Jon Favreau had a great scheme he occasionally mentions to reveal at some point in the Iron Man film future that The Mandarin was behind many of the Stark family’s struggles.